Phys.org news tagged with:neuronshttp://phys.org/
en-usPhys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine.New neuron dynamics model better fitted to the biological realityNeuroscientists are currently working diligently to understand the dynamics of thousands of coupled neurons. Understanding how they operate requires accurate models. The trouble is that each of the existing neuroscience models has its own shortcomings. Russian physicists have, for the first time, developed an effective method for solving the equations of a well-known theoretical neuroscience dynamic model and make it more biologically relevant.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-neuron-dynamics-biological-reality.html
General Physics Mon, 05 Dec 2016 11:39:35 ESTnews400160370Neir Eshel wins Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young ScientistsNeir Eshel, an MD-PhD graduate from Harvard Medical School and a former member of the Uchida Lab, was named the grand prize winner of an essay contest sponsored by the journal Science, the Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Eshel was also the 2016 winner of the Larry Katz Memorial Prize Lecture contest.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-neir-eshel-science-scilifelab-prize.html
Other Fri, 02 Dec 2016 06:20:19 ESTnews399881996Neural stem cells serve as RNA highways tooDuke University scientists have caught the first glimpse of molecules shuttling along a sort of highway running the length of neural stem cells, which are crucial to the development of new neurons.http://phys.org/news/2016-12-neural-stem-cells-rna-highways.html
Cell & Microbiology Thu, 01 Dec 2016 12:00:08 ESTnews399814356Scientists 'plug in' to circuitry behind sex in male fruit fliesResearchers from the University of Oxford have identified a small neural circuit in male fruit flies that has evolved to allow them to perform the complex mating ritual.http://phys.org/news/2016-11-scientists-circuitry-sex-male-fruit.html
Plants & Animals Tue, 15 Nov 2016 03:25:11 ESTnews398402690Researchers investigate how neurons sample probability distributionsFor observations based on sensory data, the human brain must constantly verify which "version" of reality underlies the perception. The answer is gleaned from probability distributions that are stored in the nerve cell network itself. The neurons are able to detect patterns that reflect acquired knowledge. Applying mathematical methods, physicists from Heidelberg University and researchers from Graz University of Technology have proven this phenomenon in their investigations. The current research results, published in the journal Physical Review E, are of major significance in developing new types of computer systems.http://phys.org/news/2016-11-neurons-sample-probability.html
General Physics Fri, 11 Nov 2016 07:49:31 ESTnews398072964Where is my mind? New study looks for the cortical conscious networkOur brain is a very complex network, with approximately 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapses between the neurons. In order to cope with its enormous complexity, and understand how the brain works and eventually forms our conscious mind, science uses advanced mathematical tools. Ultimately, scientists seek to understand how a global phenomenon such as consciousness can emerge from our neuronal network.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-mind-cortical-conscious-network.html
General Physics Mon, 31 Oct 2016 11:25:32 ESTnews397131926Bioluminescent sensor causes brain cells to glow in the darkA team of Vanderbilt scientists have genetically modified luciferase, the enzyme that produces bioluminescence, so that it acts as an optical sensor that records activity in brain cells.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-bioluminescent-sensor-brain-cells-dark.html
Biochemistry Thu, 27 Oct 2016 16:53:53 ESTnews396806024Yawning found to last longer in mammals with higher cortical numbers(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers with the State University of New York has found a link between yawn duration and neuron density. In their paper published in the journal Biology Letters, Andrew Gallup, Allyson Church and Anthony Pelegrino describe a study they carried out comparing yawn lengths between species, what they found and their ideas on the purpose of yawning.http://phys.org/news/2016-10-longer-mammals-higher-cortical.html
Plants & Animals Wed, 05 Oct 2016 10:00:15 ESTnews394880397Can monkeys have autism? The answer could help us understand what causes the conditionWhen Kyoko Yoshida and his colleagues in Japan noticed one of their research monkeys was behaving strangely, they decided to study it more closely. They realised that some of the behaviour it was displaying – repetition, reduced social behaviours and an impaired ability to change behaviour in response to others' actions – bore similarities to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in humans. They found more similarities with autistic humans when they studied the monkey's DNA.http://phys.org/news/2016-09-monkeys-autism-condition.html
Plants & Animals Thu, 22 Sep 2016 08:50:03 ESTnews393752123The basic units of the olfactory system in the fly brain provide references to their function and ecological relevanceScientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have now quantified and mapped the functional units of the olfactory center in the brains of vinegar flies responsible for the perception of odors. They found out that the so-called olfactory glomeruli in the antennal lobe, the insect analogue of the olfactory bulb of mammals, differ from each other in their architecture. The morphology and the structure of these spherical brain units provide information about the ecological relevance of the odors they process, especially with regard to the flies' odor-guided behavior.http://phys.org/news/2016-09-basic-olfactory-brain-function-ecological.html
Cell & Microbiology Wed, 21 Sep 2016 06:30:40 ESTnews393658231Neuromorphic computing mimics important brain feature(Phys.org)—When you hear a sound, only some of the neurons in the auditory cortex of your brain are activated. This is because every auditory neuron is tuned to a certain range of sound, so that each neuron is more sensitive to particular types and levels of sound than others. In a new study, researchers have designed a neuromorphic ("brain-inspired") computing system that mimics this neural selectivity by using artificial level-tuned neurons that preferentially respond to specific types of stimuli.http://phys.org/news/2016-08-neuromorphic-mimics-important-brain-feature.html
Bio & Medicine Thu, 18 Aug 2016 09:30:01 ESTnews390709394Long-term exposure to female scents changes courtship behavior in male miceFew things are as interesting to a male mouse as the scent of a female. Pheromones released by females draw the attention of male mice and trigger courtship and mating behavior.http://phys.org/news/2016-08-long-term-exposure-female-scents-courtship.html
Cell & Microbiology Wed, 17 Aug 2016 12:00:01 ESTnews390648764Directly reprogramming a cell's identity with gene editingResearchers have used CRISPR—a revolutionary new genetic engineering technique—to convert cells isolated from mouse connective tissue directly into neuronal cells.http://phys.org/news/2016-08-reprogramming-cell-identity-gene.html
Biotechnology Thu, 11 Aug 2016 15:23:33 ESTnews390147792New microfluidic chip replicates muscle-nerve connectionMIT engineers have developed a microfluidic device that replicates the neuromuscular junction—the vital connection where nerve meets muscle. The device, about the size of a U.S. quarter, contains a single muscle strip and a small set of motor neurons. Researchers can influence and observe the interactions between the two, within a realistic, three-dimensional matrix.http://phys.org/news/2016-08-microfluidic-chip-replicates-muscle-nerve.html
Engineering Wed, 03 Aug 2016 19:02:04 ESTnews389469707IBM scientists imitate the functionality of neurons with a phase-change deviceIBM scientists have created randomly spiking neurons using phase-change materials to store and process data. This demonstration marks a significant step forward in the development of energy-efficient, ultra-dense integrated neuromorphic technologies for applications in cognitive computing.http://phys.org/news/2016-08-ibm-scientists-imitate-functionality-neurons.html
Nanophysics Wed, 03 Aug 2016 08:39:29 ESTnews389432348Team of biologists discovers cellular mechanism through which fruit flies sense food textureSome people love avocados. Others hate them. For many of the latter, the fruit's texture is the source of their intense dislike. What gives?http://phys.org/news/2016-07-team-biologists-cellular-mechanism-fruit.html
Biochemistry Thu, 28 Jul 2016 15:39:53 ESTnews388939159Lab team measures peripheral nervous system activity with microchip-based platformFor the first time, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have successfully incorporated adult human peripheral nervous system (PNS) cells on a microelectrode platform for long-term testing of chemical and toxic effects on cell health and function.http://phys.org/news/2016-07-lab-team-peripheral-nervous-microchip-based.html
Biochemistry Wed, 27 Jul 2016 07:17:38 ESTnews388822642New probe developed for improved high resolution measurement of brain temperatureThe brain is the most temperature-sensitive organ in the body. Even small deviations in brain temperature are capable of producing profound effects—including behavioral changes, cell toxicity, and neuronal cell death. The problem faced by researchers and clinicians is how to measure and understand these changes in the brain and how they are influenced by complex biochemical and physiological pathways that may be altered by disease, brain injury or drug abuse.http://phys.org/news/2016-07-probe-high-resolution-brain-temperature.html
Optics & Photonics Wed, 20 Jul 2016 13:20:03 ESTnews388239110How the songbird learns its melodyLearning a first language is somewhat effortless. We start learning from our parents before we can even remember and the words and sounds are imprinted in our memory at an early age. Learning a new language as an adult is much more difficult, involves a lot of hard work, and you may never have the same fluency as with your first language. The same is true of songbirds. Zebra finches learn their song when they are young by listening to their father's or tutor's song.http://phys.org/news/2016-06-songbird-melody.html
Plants & Animals Tue, 21 Jun 2016 11:00:02 ESTnews385704497The primate brain is 'pre-adapted' to face potentially any situationScientists have shown how the brain anticipates all of the new situations that it may encounter in a lifetime by creating a special kind of neural network that is "pre-adapted" to face any eventuality. This emerges from a new neuroscience study published in PLOS Computational Biology.http://phys.org/news/2016-06-primate-brain-pre-adapted-potentially-situation.html
Plants & Animals Fri, 10 Jun 2016 14:00:07 ESTnews384778072Fruit fly sex drive hints at how animals choose behaviorsMale fruit flies have a mating drive, and its rise and fall is controlled by dopamine levels in one area of the brain, a team of Harvard Medical School neurobiologists has found.http://phys.org/news/2016-06-fruit-sex-hints-animals-behaviors.html
Plants & Animals Fri, 10 Jun 2016 06:20:02 ESTnews384757882Modelling auditory systems of bats for information processing applicationsScientists have developed a neural network model of a bat's auditory system to understand how bats rapidly discriminate between signals from edible insects and surrounding background noise. The report by researchers at UEC, Tokyo is published Neural Processing Letters.http://phys.org/news/2016-06-auditory-applications.html
Other Tue, 07 Jun 2016 06:49:06 ESTnews384500935Fruit fly brains shed light on why we get tired when we stay up too lateStudying fruit flies, whose sleep is remarkably similar to that in people, Johns Hopkins researchers say they've identified brain cells that are responsible for why delaying bedtime creates chronic sleepiness.http://phys.org/news/2016-05-fruit-brains-late.html
Cell & Microbiology Thu, 19 May 2016 12:00:14 ESTnews382872043Study shows how neurons reach their final destinationsAs the human brain develops, neurons leave their birthplace and take a trip to distant locations. Once they reach their final destination, the neurons then send out axons and dendrites—the branches that receive and send messages from other cells.http://phys.org/news/2016-05-neurons-destinations.html
Cell & Microbiology Tue, 17 May 2016 14:31:52 ESTnews382714302Study reveals how differences in male and female brains emergeNematode worms may not be from Mars or Venus, but they do have sex-specific circuits in their brains that cause the males and females to act differently. According to new research published in Nature, scientists have determined how these sexually dimorphic (occurring in either males or females) connections arise in the worm nervous system. The research was funded by the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).http://phys.org/news/2016-05-reveals-differences-male-female-brains.html
Plants & Animals Mon, 16 May 2016 11:36:10 ESTnews382617361Study yields insight into the mystery of smellResearchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have uncovered the mechanism underlying a phenomenon in how we smell that has puzzled researchers for decades. In an article appearing online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team reports that, surprisingly, the mechanism follows a simple physics principle called cooperativity.http://phys.org/news/2016-05-yields-insight-mystery.html
General Physics Mon, 09 May 2016 15:00:01 ESTnews382016450Smartphone lights can activate live cellsScientists at the University of St Andrews have discovered that the lighting used in smartphone displays can activate live cells that are genetically programmed to respond to light.http://phys.org/news/2016-05-smartphone-cells.html
Biotechnology Mon, 09 May 2016 09:22:10 ESTnews382004520Exploring the landscape of cell receptorsEver wonder how caffeine works so marvelously to give you that extra boost you need the night before your final exam?http://phys.org/news/2016-05-exploring-landscape-cell-receptors.html
Biochemistry Fri, 06 May 2016 08:47:43 ESTnews381743243Pregnancy changes perception of odours and tastesThe perception and reactions to odours and tastes can change in pregnancy, sometimes dramatically. This is also true for flies. The mechanisms, however, that trigger these changes are not understood in either mammals or insects. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried now succeeded in demonstrating that the concentration of a certain receptor increases in the sensory organs of gravid fruit fly females. As a result, the taste and odour of important nutrients, called polyamines, are processed differently in the brain: Pregnant flies favour nutrition that is rich in polyamines and increase their reproductive success in this way.http://phys.org/news/2016-05-pregnancy-perception-odours.html
Plants & Animals Thu, 05 May 2016 06:40:30 ESTnews381649210